WangXian Forever 3

Chapter 7 Intensity

Jiang Cheng hauled XiChen to his room, but even before the door was shut, XiChen was kissing him with passion.

"You were so hot in there." XiChen admitted, with a soft smile. "I couldn't wait to do that again."

"I thought you would be upset with me..." Jiang Cheng searched his eyes. "But if that's what does it for you..."

"Most definitely!" XiChen's eyes burned with fire.

"I couldn't stand it. They made my brother's life a nightmare. I couldn't let them do it to us too." Jiang Cheng wanted to be serious but the look on his lover's face had him forgetting everything.

XiChen beat him to another kiss.

Someone shrieked outside their room. XiChen was about to pull away but Jiang Cheng stopped him. They waited but there was only silence, so Jiang Cheng thought it was safe to continue.

He went in for another kiss, when there was a shout and a loud thwack outside.

"If you can concentrate on anything else outside of this room, I am not doing a good enough job as your fiance." Jiang Cheng held onto XiChen tightly.

"You are, you are! But-" the noises of distress were getting louder outside. "Shouldn't we check that out?"

"Later."

*******

A winding staircase of roughly hewn rock led the three people down into a large vault. Torches lit by themselves as they walked further in.

It was colder here than outside; Wei Ying could see his breath puff out in little clouds. He shivered. Lan Zhan pulled him closer, keeping an arm around his waist and providing some warmth.

The darkness faded away to reveal such an assortment of items and artifacts that Wei Ying didn't know where to start looking.

"My ancestors have been collecting for a long time." Jin Ling said, walking in front of them.

"It's organized well," mused Wei Ying.

His words brought a faint blush to his nephew's cheeks. "We had a huge task with the inventory of this place. That's how we had found the Yangsui."

They drifted past the rare books and scrolls into the weapons section.

"May I?" Wei Ying asked, pointing to a curious-looking staff.

Jin Ling nodded and handed it to him. It made a rattling noise so he looked for a way to open it. Finding no crack or separation, Wei Ying handed it back.

"What is it?"

"Look." Jin Ling touched on a pressure point and the outer cover fell off revealing a thin razor sharp blade. "These types of hidden swords were popular a few hundred years ago. People traveling to unknown areas found them particularly helpful, especially if they did not want to appear hostile straight away. It looks like an ordinary walking staff."

Wei Ying moved along. There were knives with decorative handles, encrusted with diamonds, blades of solid silver and gold, though he thought they'd be useless in an actual fight. Perhaps they were ceremonial weapons at best. There were maces, sabres, spears and his favourite, exquisite bows and arrows.

His fingertips traced the curved body of one in particular, feeling the grooves of the engravings.

"Do you like that?" Jin Ling was watching him, fascinated. He hardly got to spend any quality time with this uncle; normally other people would be their buffers. Here, he felt that much closer to this still quite mysterious man.

"Yes." A look of nostalgic longing passed over his features. Wei Ying abruptly stopped touching it and walked on.

"Uncle?" Jin Ling hurried to catch up.

"I don't have any use for something so magnificent." Wei Ying told him. But they both knew it was something more than that.

This new section they entered held his interest immediately. The shelves were filled with items stuffed to the brim, with no discernable system.

"Er, we haven't got to this part yet." Jin Ling pushed a strange looking lump of metal further into the shelf, embarrassed. "It's kind of hard to categorize, so no one wants to start." He laughed awkwardly.

Wei Ying picked up random things just out of curiosity rather than an actual desire to keep. If he was honest, nothing appealed to him. What he needed, he already had; he looked at Lan Zhan.

"Mn?"

There must have been something in his expression which had Lan Zhan coming closer, and all of a sudden, Wei Ying just wanted to be alone with him.

So he grabbed a small ugly looking metal thing, he didn't even know what it was, and took hold of his husband.

"We're picking this." Urgency had him not looking for confirmation from the puzzled man at his side. "Let's go."

"But Uncle, you haven't even seen-"

"No need." Wei Ying was already pulling his husband back towards the stairs.

Jin Ling hurried to go up before them.

"Wei Ying?" Lan Zhan asked quietly.

"I...er...need you!" Wei Ying explained, breathlessly.

He understood immediately, a fire kindling brightly in his eyes.

The moment they were outside, he took over, dragging Wei Ying to their room.

"Goodnight, uncle." Jin Ling called, walking past a man who suddenly fell into the fountain next to him with a shriek.

Another sect leader was walking towards Lan Zhan when suddenly, his robes came loose and he was clutching what remained to hide his modesty.

"What's going on-" Wei Ying tried to ask, but the door closed behind him, and his husband did not want to talk.